Light emitting diode (LED) pad mount system

ABSTRACT

A lighting assembly includes a heat sink including a pad surface, and an LED mounted on the pad surface. An optical device is optically coupled to the LED, and a support structure is provided for connecting the optical device to the heat sink. The support structure includes fixation spacers to connect the supporting structure to the heat sink, and both the LED and the fixation spacers contact the pad surface on a common plane.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/832,702 filed Mar. 27, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/465,018 filed Mar. 21, 2017, the entire contentsof which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of the Disclosure

The present disclosure is directed toward a heatsink and mounting padfor a motor vehicle lighting system and method.

Description of the Related Art

Use of semiconductor-based (e.g., LED) lighting in vehicles isincreasingly common in the automotive industry. As volumes have grown,auto manufacturers and their suppliers are under increasing pressure tocontinue to improve performance and efficiency, and to reduce weight andcosts as LED lighting assemblies are installed on an increasingly largenumber of vehicles, including those of modest, sensitive price points.

Areas for development include alignment and precision of the LEDprojection, thermal management, reliability and durability, ease andquality of manufacturing, and reduced labor and material costs. Thus,continued innovation and refinement of materials and manufacturingprocesses are important contributors toward the introduction of improvedLED-based lighting.

As power outputs of LEDs increase, there is a need to use of a heat sinkto dissipate heat. However, the heat sink is large compared to the LEDand makes alignment with optical elements difficult.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure is directed to a lighting assembly including aheat sink having a raised, flat surface, an LED mounted on the raised,flat surface, an optical device optically coupled to the LED, and asupport structure for connecting the optical device to the heat sink.The support structure further includes fixation spacers to connect thesupporting structure to the heat sink, and both the LED and the fixationspacers contact the raised, flat surface on a common plane.

The heat sink may be a stamping formed from at least one of aluminum, analuminum alloy, and a thermally conductive material. The pad surface mayinclude an approximately circular area. The pad surface may have athickness of at least 1.2 mm, or be in the range of approximately 1.2 mmto approximately 1.6 mm. The pad surface may include a truncatedcircular area. The optical device may be a light pipe, a collector lensor a collimator lens.

The support structure may further include at least one touch down peg,and the heat sink may further include a corresponding touch down holefor each of the at least one touch down peg. Where the optical devicemay is a light pipe, a lateral distance between the LED and each of theat least one touch down pegs is at least 10 mm. Where the optical deviceis a light pipe, a lateral distance between the LED and each of the atleast one touch down pegs is at least equal to the distance of a firstend of the light pipe to the LED. Each of the at least one touch downpegs may be self-centering within the corresponding touch down hole. Theat least one touch down peg may include a cylindrical shape or a taperedshape along a length.

In another aspect of the invention, a method for assembling a lightingassembly includes forming a heat sink with a pad surface by stamping ablank, connecting an LED to the pad surface, and joining an opticaldevice and a support structure. The support structure is connected tothe pad surface of the heat sink, and the LED and the support structureare resting on the pad surface. A PCB is connected to the heat sink, thePCB resting on the heat sink at a location other than the pad surface.The PCB is electrically connected to the LED by at least one ribbonwire, and the optical device is positioned relative to the LED, the LEDable to direct light into a first end of the optical device and out asecond end of the optical device.

The support structure may be aligned with the heat sink by inserting atleast one touch down peg of the support structure into a correspondingat least one touch down hole of the heat sink.

The step of connecting the support structure to the pad surface of theheat sink, the LED and the support structure resting on the pad surfacefurther may include positioning a plurality of fixation spacers of thesupport structure on the pad surface with the LED.

The forming a heat sink with a pad surface includes stamping a blank ofat least one of aluminum, an aluminum alloy, and a thermally conductivematerial. The forming a heat sink may include stamping a pad surfacehaving a thickness in the range of approximately 1.2 mm to approximately1.6 mm.

The foregoing general description of the illustrative implementationsand the following detailed description thereof are merely exemplaryaspects of the teachings of this disclosure, and are not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a heat sink, according to one example;

FIG. 2 illustrates a lighting assembly, according to one example;

FIG. 3 illustrates the fixation assembly, according to one example;

FIG. 4 illustrates the lighting assembly connected to the fixationassembly, according to one example; and

FIG. 5 illustrates the lighting assembly connected to the fixationassembly, according to one example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designateidentical or corresponding parts throughout the several views. Further,as used herein, the words “a”, “an” and the like generally carry ameaning of “one or more”, unless stated otherwise.

FIG. 1 illustrates a heat sink 104, according to one example. The heatsink 104 may be formed as a stamping, including a raised, flat pad 120of a thickness T, and a number of touch down holes 124, 124′, etc. Thepad 120 may be formed as a raised, flat surface on a flat portion of theheat sink 104, and the touch down holes 124 may be located adjacent tothe pad 120. The pad 120 may be mechanically coupled to the heat sink,or formed by stamping a recess in an underside of the heat sink 104. Theheat sink 104 may provide a lighting assembly 101 (see FIG. 2) withthermal capacity to store and dissipate excess heat generated byoperation of the lighting assembly 101, particularly from an LED 102.While in one example, the heat sink 104 may be formed from stampedaluminum, it is understood that the heat sink 104 may be formed from avariety of materials that are thermally conductive and that can bestamped. In one example, the thickness T corresponds to a thickness ofthe PCB. This thickness may be approximately 1.2 to 1.6 mm.

In another example, the raised flat pad of heat sink 104 may be formedby stamping a mounting side to include a recess within which a PrintedCircuit Board (PCB) 112 may be positioned, and allow for positioning ofan LED 102 and a fixation assembly 108 on the non-recessed portion ofthe heat sink 104. This maintains the relative position (along a z-axis)between the LED 102, the fixation assembly 108 (illustrated in FIG. 3),and the PCB 112. In one example, the PCB 112 has a thickness ofapproximately 1.5 mm.

FIG. 2 illustrates a lighting assembly 101, according to one example.The lighting assembly 101 is also shown without the fixation assembly108 for illustrative purposes. The lighting assembly 101 may alsoinclude the heat sink 104, the PCB 112, the LED 102, and one or moreconductive ribbons 114. The LED 102 may be positioned on the pad 120 ofthe heat sink 104, while the PCB 112 may be mounted on another portionof the heat sink 104 to maintain a distance from the LED 102 to protectthe PCB 112 from heat generated by the LED 102, allowing the PCB 112 tomaintain a lower temperature during operation of the LED 102. The ribbon114 may electrically connect the LED 102 to the PCB 112, and the PCB 112may be connected to and control operation of the LED 102.

It is generally desirable to form a pad 120 having as small an area aspossible for ease of stamping. Thus, conventionally, the mounting padarea is formed slightly larger than the footprint of the LED 102.However, use of the fixation assembly 108 having one or more fixationspacers 130, such as illustrated by FIG. 3, may necessitate forming thepad 120 to include a larger area than just to accommodate positioning ofthe LED 102. In one example, the pad 120 may have a truncated circularshape or area to accommodate placement of the PCB 112 adjacent to theLED 102, such as shown in FIG. 2. One advantage of such a shape is toallow placement of the PCB 112 close to the LED 102, and thereforereduce the length of the ribbon 114. In another example, the pad 120 mayhave a circular shape or area.

FIG. 3 illustrates the fixation assembly 108, according to one example.The fixation assembly 108 may include a fixation body 128 connected toone or more touch down pegs 126, 126′, etc., one or more fixationspacers 130, 130′, 130″, etc., and a light pipe 110 to be opticallycoupled to the LED 102. The touch down pegs 126 establish lateralspacing of the light pipe 110 with respect to LED 102, and the fixationspacers 130 establish axial distance (focus) of the LED with respect tolight pipe 110. Axial distance should be as small as possible to improveoptical coupling, but is constrained by the ability of the light pipe towithstand heat of the LED. The lateral distance should be kept as smallas possible to minimize tolerance effects on the pad surface, but isalso constrained by thermal tolerance of the fixation spacer materialand may be centered about the location of the LED 102 on the pad 120. Ingeneral, the lateral distance of the fixation spacers 130 from the LED102 should be at least equal to the vertical distance from the first endof the light pipe 110 to the LED 102 and is generally. In one example,the lateral distance of the fixation spacers 130 from the LED 102 is atleast 10 mm.

In general, it is desirable for each of the touch down peg 126 to belocated as far from the other touch down peg 126 as practicable toreduce the magnitude of possible rotation of the fixation assembly 108relative to the heat sink 104 during assembly of the lighting assembly101. In one example, the fixation assembly 108 may have two touch downpegs 126. In another example, the fixation assembly 108 may have threetouch down pegs 126. Further, in one example the fixation assembly 108may have three fixation spacers 130. In another example, the fixationassembly 108 may have two fixation spacers 130.

The fixation assembly 108 may be designed to connect to the heat sink104 by insertion of one or more of the touch down pegs 126 into acorresponding number of the touch down holes 124 of the heat sink 104.As seen, the touch down holes 124 are not located on the pad 120. Thisspaces the holes from the LED to preserve thermal properties of the heatsink in the area surrounding the LED. In one embodiment the touch downholes 124 serve as a reference for placement of the LED 120 on the pad120. The fixation assembly 108 may rest on the pad 120 by contactbetween the one or more fixation spacers 130 and the pad 120. The touchdown peg 126 may be cylindrical in form. Further, the touch down peg 126may be tapered along a longitudinal z-axis such that it may beself-centering in a case the touch down peg 126 is inserted into thetouch down hole 124.

The light pipe 110 may be positioned in a substantially paralleldirection relative to the touch down peg 126 and the fixation spacers130 such that the light pipe 110 may be substantially perpendicular tothe pad 120 when the fixation assembly 108 is connected to the heat sink104. In other examples, the fixation assembly 108 may include othercomponentry rather than the light pipe 110 such as a collimator lens, acollector lens, or other optical element.

The fixation assembly 108 may be formed from one or more materials, suchas polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), acrylic, or acrylic glass havingdesired properties which may affect or be affected by constraints due toexpected operating conditions such as temperature, vibration, anddurability requirements, as well as requirements for manufacturing costand repeatability, molding precision and accuracy, material cost andavailability, and color.

FIG. 4 illustrates the lighting assembly 101 connected to the fixationassembly 108, according to one example. The fixation body 128 isconnected to the heat sink 104 by the number of touch down pegs 126connected to the fixation body 128 and inserted through a correspondingnumber of the touch down holes 124. Connections between the touch downholes 124 and the touch down pegs 126 restrict or prevent movementbetween the fixation body 128 and the heat sink 104 in the x-y plane, aswell as allow the fixation body 128 to rest on the heat sink 104 in thevertical direction (z-axis). The fixation body 128 further rests on thepad 120 of the heat sink 104 through contact between one or morefixation spacers 130 and the pad 120. The PCB 112 may control operationof the LED 102 through the connection between the LED 102 and the PCB112 by the number of ribbons 114.

FIG. 5 illustrates the lighting assembly 101 connected to the fixationassembly 108, according to one example. The lighting assembly 101 shownis identical to that illustrated by FIG. 4, with the exceptions that thelighting assembly 101 is shown from a different perspective and that thePCB 112 shown in FIG. 4 is omitted to indicate a vertical distance Zseparating the first end of the light pipe 110 from the pad 120 and theLED 102.

Because the light pipe 110 is rigidly connected to the fixation body 128that is secured to the heat sink 104, and the LED 102 is positioned onthe pad 120 of the heat sink 104, the position of the light pipe 110 isthus fixed relative to the LED 102. The LED 102 may be positioned on thepad 120 near a first end of the light pipe 110. Light emitted by the LED102 may be directed into the first end of the light pipe 110. The morethe first end of the light pipe 110 encompasses the LED 102, the morelight emitted by the LED 102 is captured by the light pipe 110. Throughinternal reflection along a length inside the light pipe 110, lightemitted by the LED 102 may be directed through to a second end of thelight pipe 110. The smaller the vertical distance Z between the firstend of the light pipe 110 and the LED 102, the more efficient lighttransmission between the LED 102 through to the second end of the lightpipe 110 may be (e.g. due to Total Internal Reflection, TIR). However, aconstraint that limits placing the light pipe 110 directly around theLED 102 may be heat dissipation. Heat generated by the LED 102 may bedetrimental to reliability and durability of the light pipe 110. Due tothermal considerations the light pipe 110 may thus be positioned thedistance Z from the pad 120 to maintain a suitable distance between theLED 102 and the first end of the light pipe 110. In one example,distance Z may be approximately 0.2 mm. In another example, distance Zmay be approximately in the range of 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm.

Precise positioning between the LED 102 and the light pipe 110 is ofgreat importance to the performance of the lighting assembly 101.Locating both the LED 102 and the light pipe 110 (by way of the fixationbody 128, and the fixation spacer 130) relative to the same referencesurface or plane on the pad 120 allows for improved tolerances andrepeatability during manufacturing and assembly of the lighting assembly101. By positioning the LED 102 and supporting the fixation assembly 108on the pad 120, the LED 102 and the fixation spacers 130 are thusresting on the same plane. This eliminates a tolerance that wouldotherwise exist between the LED 102 and the fixation spacers 130 if theLED 102 was mounted on a different plane to that of the fixation spacers130. In that case there would exist a tolerance relative to the distanceZ that would affect the positioning of the LED 102 relative to thefixation spacers 130. Further, it is beneficial that the pad 120 isformed as an integral part of the heat sink 104 by a stamping process.Stamping of the pad 120 results in a more planar surface than isavailable from sheet aluminum or another material prior to the stampingprocess, further improving accuracy of positioning between the LED 102,the fixation spacers 130, and the pad 120. In addition to stamping, thepad surface may be machined to improve flatness and therefore couplingbetween the LED and light pipe.

Thus, the foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely exemplaryembodiments of the present application. As will be understood by thoseskilled in the art, the present application may be embodied in otherspecific forms without departing from the spirit or essentialcharacteristics thereof. Accordingly, the disclosure of the presentapplication is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting of thescope of the application, as well as other claims. The disclosure,including any readily discernable variants of the teachings herein,define, in part, the scope of the foregoing claim terminology such thatno inventive subject matter is dedicated to the public.

What is claimed is:
 1. A lighting assembly, comprising: a heat sinkformed from a metal plate having a first side and a second side oppositeto the first side, the heat sink comprising a raised flat pad protrudingfrom a flat surface of the first side, wherein the raised flat padcorresponds to a recess in the second side directly opposite to theraised flat pad; an LED mounted on the raised flat pad, the LED being indirect contact with the raised flat pad; an optical element opticallycoupled to the LED; a support structure for connecting the opticalelement to the heat sink such the LED is optically coupled to theoptical element; and a printed circuit board positioned on a boardmounting surface on the first side of the metal plate, the boardmounting surface being non-coplanar relative to the raised flat pad. 2.The light assembly of claim 1, wherein the printed circuit board ispositioned at a predetermined distance from the raised flat pad suchthat a gap is formed between a sidewall of the raised flat pad and anedge of the printed circuit board.
 3. The light assembly of claim 2,wherein the printed circuit board is electrically connected to the LED.4. The light assembly of claim 3, further comprising a ribbon conductorhaving a first end attached to the printed circuit board, and a secondend attached to the LED such that the printed circuit board iselectrically connected to the LED, wherein the ribbon conductor bridgesthe gap between a sidewall of the raised flat pad and an edge of theprinted circuit board.
 5. The light assembly of claim 1, wherein thesupport structure comprises a plurality of receiving structures providedon one of the metal plate or the optical element, and a plurality ofrespective protrusions on the other of the metal plate or opticalelement, the plurality of receiving structures configured to engage theplurality of respective protrusions to connect the optical element tothe heat sink such the LED is optically coupled to the optical element.6. The light assembly of claim 5, wherein the plurality of receivingstructures is provided on the metal plate, the plurality of receivingstructures comprising a pair of through holes each extending from theflat surface of the first side of the metal plate to the second side ofthe metal plate.
 7. The light assembly of claim 6, wherein the throughholes are positioned on the flat surface adjacent to opposing sides ofthe raised flat pad such that a straight line connecting the pair ofthrough holes would intersect the raised flat pad.
 8. The light assemblyof claim 7, wherein plurality of protrusions comprising a pair ofprotrusions on the optical element corresponding to the pair of throughholes in the metal plate, wherein each through hole is configured toengage a respective protrusion of the pair of protrusions.
 9. Thelighting assembly according to claim 8, wherein each of the at least oneprotrusions is self-centering within a respective one of the throughholes.
 10. The light assembly of claim 1, wherein the metal platecomprises an aluminum plate.
 11. The light assembly of claim 1, whereinthe raised flat pad comprises a machined surface to improve flatness ofthe raised flat pad.
 12. The light assembly of claim 1, wherein themetal plate comprises at least one first bend that forms at least onerespective first planar portion of the heat sink that extends at anangle with respect to the flat surface.
 13. The light assembly of claim12, wherein the metal plate further comprises at least one second bendthat forms at least one respective second planar portion of the heatsink that extends at an angle with respect to the first flat surface.14. The light assembly of claim 13, wherein: the at least one firstplanar portion extends from the first flat surface at an angle ofapproximately 90 degrees, the at least one second planar portion extendsfrom the first flat surface at an angle of approximately 90 degrees, andthe at least one first planar portion extends in a first direction awayfrom the first flat surface, and the at least one second planar portionextends in a second direction away from the first flat surface andapproximately opposite to the first direction.
 15. The light assembly ofclaim 1, further comprising a spacer coupled to the heat sink and thesupport structure such that the spacer establishes an axial distancebetween the LED and the optical element.
 16. The light assembly of claim15, wherein said spacer is fixed to at least one of the heat sink andthe support.
 17. The lighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein themetal plate comprises a thermally conductive material that can beprocessed by stamping.
 18. The lighting assembly according to claim 17,wherein the thermally conductive material that can be processed bystamping is at least one of aluminum and an aluminum alloy.
 19. Thelighting assembly according to claim 1, wherein the raised flat padcomprises a thickness of at least approximately 1.2 mm.
 20. The lightingassembly according to claim 1, wherein the raised flat pad comprises athickness of less than approximately 1.6 mm.